Plymouth teenage dad-to-be dealt drugs to support baby

A TEENAGE father-to-be dealt drugs because he had no money to support the baby, a court heard.

Student Marcus Hart panicked when his girlfriend fell pregnant and started selling cannabis to his friends, Plymouth magistrates were told.

But the 19-year-old was caught red-handed by police with drugs worth £1,205.

Hart, from Mount Gould, admitted possession of 120 grams of Class B drug cannabis with intent to supply on July 7.

He also admitted possession of 0.02 grams of the Class A drug DMT on the same date.

Angela Furniss, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said police spotted Hart and two other men acting suspiciously in Anstis Street, Stonehouse.

She said he ran away when officers said they would search him.

Mrs Furniss added Hart, of Mount Gould Road, was caught nearby and the cannabis was found in his rucksack.

The court heard that police also found messages about drug-dealing on his mobile phone and a set of scales at his home.

Mrs Furniss said he was in breach of a conditional discharge for a common assault in September 2011.

Graham Kinchin, for Hart, said: "He has been taking drugs for some time. His girlfriend fell pregnant, he began to panic about things and he had the incredibly foolish idea to sell drugs to his friends.

"Now the baby is due in four weeks, the money he has been saving has been seized and he faces the prospect of a prison sentence."

He added that Hart had been studying at City College Plymouth and that the previous assault was on his brother.

Magistrates ordered a probation officer to prepare a full report on the teenager's background.

He was released on unconditional bail to return for sentence on January 25.

Comments

I am a janner. I also support a debate and re-thinking of our current drug laws. BUt it is CLEAR this comment thread has been hi-jacked by CLEAR and their "comment warriors". Half of which cannot agree on what they are actually fighting for.

I have often found that the people with the strongest prohibitionist feelings about drugs are people who subscribe to a just world hypothesis. They are usually, in reality, aggrieved that they have not somehow been given the right reward in life for their perceived noble behaviour ' I work hard' 'I pay my tax' 'why can these other people just break the law?.
Its a shame really. Life is not fair. There is no causal relationship between doing good and having a happy life. I am not suggesting that to do 'bad' things is better, merely that if you want to spend your life buying the adverts, working hard, saving for a pension so that the Eton boys can give it to their mates to gamble and raid your pension pot if they lose, keeping your head down and your chin up, and only using state sanctioned chemicals to deal with the unbearable lightness of being...well, don't vent your spleen on people who seem to be having your share of the fun?
Lighten up...lots of people don't want to live like you...get over it..the creativity generated by drug use has entertained us throughout history. Yes, as a species, we do need drones to keep the machinery working, and I'm afraid they often read the Mail, and get very frothy when anyone is having fun.
So, prohibitionists, heads down, Chin up, give your lunch money to the boys from Eton, and make another trip to town to buy more stuff to fill the hole, and let everyone else let their hair down.
I am acutely aware of the costs of drug taking (usually exacerbated by their illegality), so don't say these things lightly.
And before you froth about me being a pot head in a vain attempt at an Ad Hominem argument- Drug intake for last 20 years? Bottle of good red wine a week. Prior to 20 years ago? Absolutely everything available in vast quantities. And, I can confirm, I did inhale.

Yeah but no but yeah but? Student Marcus Hart, student of what stupidity. Personally feel sorry for the baby what a future it will be born into. Just another citizen of Little Britain as for mum and dad, I hope they lock him up and throw away the key. Drugs deal in misery - live in misery no sympathy for him. Using the baby as an excuse just shows how low they are prepared to go.

Got to agree with 'Pauliebob', got the feeling we have quite a few comments from Cannabis users - Potential Smackheads. Just like to point out that a large percentage of crime conducted is linked to drugs. Don't try explaining cannabis is ok, its not, its illegal. Yes it might be legal in Holland, but in Saudi you face the death penalty. Hope he goes down for a long time - total scum.

But surely if cannabis was legal, this lad would have had to resort to some other illegal activity to make his money? If cannabis was legal, it wouldn't command the high prices and profit margins it enjoys.

realist1955
Yes the point is to change the law.
Fact, America was segregated at one point, every human no matter what colour should have disobeyed that unjust law. Why would i take a law seriously, when its unjust?
Fact, Homosexuality is still illegal in many countries, its the law, does this mean its okay simply because its the law? No, it means its an unjust law we should all want to change.
Fact, in many parts of the world, women are still treated as second class citizens if they are lucky, and the law does nothing to protect them.
My point is, i dont give a damn what the law says if it causes more harm than good. FACT. So you can either sit there saying ''the law is the law'', while knowing how corrupt, dangerous, ineffective and economically draining prohibition is, or you can do something about it to improve society for the next generation.